Together Forever
by Mibamonster
Summary: After Bella kisses Jacob in Eclipse, Edward has difficulty trusting her again, afraid that she might have fallen in love with someone else after all. Will true love conquer? Bella/Edward. Oneshot.


**A/N: Everything in italics is from _Eclipse_, page 531 and 532, the rest is my take on how that scene would've gone.**

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_There was no sound to warn me. Out of nowhere, Edward's cold hand strokes against my knotted hair. I shuddered guiltily at his touch._

_"Are you all right?" he murmured, his voice anxious._

_"No. I want to die."_

_"That will never happen. I won't allow it."_

_I groaned and then whispered, "You might change your mind about that."_

_"Where's Jacob?"_

_"He went to fight," I mumbled into the floor._

_Jacob had left the little camp joyfully – with a cheerful "I'll be right back" – running full tilt for the clearing, already quivering as he prepared to shift to his other self. By now the whole pack knew everything. Seth Clearwater, pacing outside the tent, was an intimate witness to my disgrace._

_Edward was silent for a long moment. "Oh," he finally said._

I didn't respond, didn't want to acknowledge what I'd done. How could I look at him again when I'd betrayed him like that? I loved Edward more than anything – no matter how much Jacob meant to me, he could never be as important as Edward. Edward was the one I wanted to be with forever and I might've blown that for good, just because of one stupid kiss.

When I finally peeked up at him, Edward was looking at me through eyes wide with shock. His lips were quivering. "Bella?" he whispered, his velvet voice pained. "How – how could you do that?"

"I had to, Edward," I tried. "He said he was going to kill himself if I didn't – I didn't have a choice!"

He slowly shook his head and brought his hands up to his face. "I love you," he croaked. "Bella, I love you more than anything. You know that."

"I do," I said.

"But you kissed him. You kissed that _dog_." A scowl appeared on his handsome face. "We're engaged to be married, Bella. Did you think this was the way that went? Did you think this was a good way of showing your love for me? By kissing someone else?"

I flinched at the hurt in his voice.

"Edward, no!" I grabbed his hands and tried to pull them from his face, but to no avail. "Edward, you're the only one that I love," I swore, pressing my cheek against his palm. How could I ever tell him how much I loved him? "I don't want Jacob. I don't want anyone else. I just want you."

A small smile appeared on his sculptured lips and his thumb started stroking my cheek. He brought his other hand to my face as well and forced my to look up at him, resting his forehead against mine. "Really? You only want me?" he whispered, his breath cool in my face.

"Yes!"

"For as long as you'll live, you'll only want me?"

I nodded. Tears were brimming in my eyes. "Of course, Edward. I want to be with you forever."

His breathing increased and he brought his mouth down upon mine, parting my lips with his cold tongue, overwhelming me with his passion. I kissed him back, my hands in his hair, trying to convey how much I loved him through that one kiss.

"We'll stay together," he said, when he released his hold on me. "Forever."

I was quick to nod my assent. "Yes, yes, we'll be together forever."

"And you'll be mine. Only mine."

"Yes, of course!"

I smiled, but then his hands travelled down from my cheeks to my neck, locking it in an icy embrace. His thumbs rested on my lung pipe and gently pressed into my skin. "Edward?" I said. "I… That's not very pleasant."

The pressure on my wind pipe increased. My hand reached up and tried to pull Edward's hands away, but of course he was much stronger than me.

"Edward, please stop," I begged. "Edward, you're hurting me!"

"I don't want to hurt you, sweet Bella," he murmured. "My love. I just want us to be together forever."

"And we are. We will be. I don't see why - " Suddenly he grabbed my neck so tightly I couldn't finish. All I could do was try to gasp for air, trying to fill my lungs, but nothing came in.

Edward flashed me his crooked smile, but his eyes were sad. "But how can we be together if you're off with other men, Bella? How can I know this won't happen again?"

He let go of the pressure on my neck, but kept his hands there. He leaned down and kissed me lightly on the lips. I still tried to catch my breath when he continued, "How can I trust you if you keep throwing yourself at other men? I don't want a slut for a wife. I don't want someone who's been around all of the town, opening her legs for anyone who wants to - "

"Edward," I said, my voice wheezing. "Edward, it's not like that. I don't want anyone else. You misunderstand! You _can_ trust me!"

He reached up with one hand and traced his fingers across my lips. He stared at me, but I didn't think he actually _saw _me. "You've been very naughty, Bella," he whispered in my ear. "Naughty girls should be punished."

"Yes, yes, I should," I said. "But please don't hurt me."

He laughed grimly. "I don't think you understand the concept of punishment, love. But it's so we can be together. When I'm done, you won't want to be with other men ever again. Our love will stay pure for all eternity."

I didn't know what he was going on about. How could any punishment do that any more than his impossible beauty and amazing personality already had? What was he going to do? He wasn't – he wasn't going to hurt me, was he?

"What are you doing?" I whimpered, when he pressed his thumbs firmly into my windpipe again.

"Don't struggle, Bella. It'll only hurt more if you struggle."

I tried to push his hands away, but he was too strong. As dark spots started to dance in front of my eyes, my resistance grew weaker. "Edward – Edward, don't - " I tried to say, but nothing more than a faint squealing came out.

"Don't worry, love. We'll see each other again." His honey voice seemed to come from very far away. "I just don't want to share you. Where you're going, I won't have to share you with anyone. We'll be together forever. Our own happily ever after."


End file.
